Tricked, Deceived, Bamboozled – Pretending to be human or disguising your bot can reduce your lead conversion and affect resident retention. Now more than ever, renters are hyper-aware of when they are being misled. Many believe that prospects don’t like to talk to bots at all, which is not valid. In fact, 74% of renters would prefer to speak with a bot than a live human. However, renters would like to know when they are talking to a bot vs. a person, rather than being duped into believing it’s a natural person. Here are some of the reasons why pretending to be human can affect your business:
- Reduces trust in your brand
- Expectations are misaligned
- Questions are not accurately addressed
- Authenticity is everything
Reduces trust in your brand
Trust is a must when it comes to your current and prospective customers. If your customers can’t trust you to communicate with them transparently, their confidence in your company will waiver. Prospects and residents want to know they will be taken care of by their community, but they will begin to question your company’s competency if they feel they are being misled. It’s essential to be transparent with your processes so you can increase assurance in your organization.
Expectations are misaligned
If customers believe they are speaking with an actual human rather than a bot, they may have their expectations misaligned with your bot’s functionality. They may assume that who they are talking to is personable and can remember crucial customer information. However, if your bot has never spoken with the individual or can’t look user information up, they may not meet their expectations. Letting the user know they are talking to a bot is critical so that your customers know how to interact with the bot and what will be a natural response.
Questions are not accurately addressed.
If your bot is disguised as a human, users may ask questions in a way that bots don’t understand or have the answers to. If prospects cannot find the answers they need quickly, they may drop off and move on to the next option. Customers may grow frustrated and feel they are not being heard or acknowledged. When you are upfront and disclose that your communication is a bot, the user will have expectations and know that they can continue through another route if the answers to their questions are not clear. However, if they believe they are already talking to a human, they may infer that your staff does not understand how to assist them, which will drop their confidence in your team.
Authenticity is everything
In a world where technology is constantly advancing, users want to know what they are dealing with. When you are authentic with your customers, you value them enough to be upfront with them. You are not attempting to pull the wool over their eyes; you are showing them that your brand can be trusted. Authenticity is everything, now more than ever. Show your customers how much you value them by being clear that your tool is a bot. You can do this by changing the avatar icon to a bot and disclosing that your product is a bot in the verbiage.
Again, it’s essential to avoid bamboozling your prospects and residents by making them think they are talking to a human when in reality, they are conversing with a bot. If you don’t disclose this upfront, you may find that your lead conversion and resident retention may be affected because you’ve reduced trust in your brand, users’ expectations may be misaligned, questions are not accurately addressed, and authenticity is neglected. Build trust in your company by being clear that you use a bot; your prospects and residents will appreciate it.
